Transuranic waste material generated in the United States Department of Energy Operations have since 1970 been packaged to a large extent in unvented 55 gallon steel drums and have been stored with the intention of future retrieval. It is intended that the material in these drums will be disposed of permanently in the Department of Energy Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. Currently, there are safety concerns regarding these stored drums because of a potential presence of combustible headspace gases. These gases can include hydrogen and methane resulting from the radiolytic decomposition of hydrogenous waste materials, e.g., paper, plastics and moist materials and/or from the presence of generally small amounts of combustible volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are co-contaminants of the transuranic wastes. Future handling and transportation of these wastes stored in drums such as 55 gallon drums must address what is to be done about such gases.
The WIPP facility has waste acceptance criteria which require that all packages stored must also be vented. Moreover, those packages which are to be shipped to the waste isolation pilot plant must both be vented and demonstrated to meet combustible gas concentration limits before shipment.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods of and apparatus for rapidly testing and venting the contents of these drums with minimal expense and inconvenience and with maximum safety.